


(Gritty Not Included)

by greenbucket



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hockey, M/M, Meet-Cute, NHL Player William "Dex" Poindexter, Nursey is Gritty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-22 11:22:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19666456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenbucket/pseuds/greenbucket
Summary: If anyone ever asks Nursey – though so far no one has – he can now definitively say that the worst thing about being Gritty is that it fucking stinks like ass inside the suit. Other than that, it's pretty chill.





	(Gritty Not Included)

**Author's Note:**

> Written and then entirely forgotten about - until now! Based on [this text post!](https://acepoindexter.tumblr.com/post/179223184337/the-only-valid-au-is-one-where-dex-gets-signed-by)

If anyone ever asks Nursey – though so far no one has – he can now definitively say that the worst thing about being Gritty is that it fucking stinks like ass inside the suit.

His skin routine is long out of the window with the amount of grimy sweating he does in that thing. Which he guesses kind of makes it his fault that it smells so bad? But like, at the same time, Nursey isn’t sure if or when the suit gets washed. A dude can’t help sweating when he’s skating around dressed as whatever the fuck Gritty is supposed to be, but so far he hasn’t seen the thing spinning around in a washing machine. So that’s kinda gross.

Other than that, it’s pretty chill.

Sure, it’s not what Nursey had envisioned when he’d thought about how to stay in touch with skating once his hockey days were put behind him for like, a real job and shit. And sure, he’s never been a Flyers fan himself, and that orange kind of puts him at the brink of a migraine half the time, but it’s cool. He gets to watch games and do dumb stuff in front of crowds and do all some fun social media things with the stars. Once children at large stopped crying at Gritty-suit’s terrifying eyes, it’s been a hit.

Well, mostly a hit.

“Can we take five?” Dex asks for the third time in half an hour of aborted filming attempts and an approximate zillion missed shots on goal. “It’s just really hard to focus with… that.”

Inside the Gritty suit, Nursey sighs and feels his own warm breath pushed back at him. Ugh. He has to stay professional, while this guy gets to fuck with the filming schedule because he can’t focus with Gritty breathing down his neck? The disappointment he feels when he remembers no one can see him rolling his eyes inside the suit is immeasurable.

But the crew let Dex have it, taking the opportunity for a cigarette break and a chat themselves. Some of the actual Flyers team have been watching from off the ice – they take the opportunity to yell some more obscene heckles, ones that cross the line of PR-approved-camaraderie, and Dex gives as good as he gets back. In a manner of speaking, anyway. Like, his chirps are fucking weak, but Nursey keeps his mouth shut inside the Gritty suit.

Gritty has not been a hit with Will Poindexter, newly acquired Flyers defenseman, and general grumpy but incredibly hot asshole. It’s not like he’s made the faux pas of showing personality and saying as much in an interview or anything, but as Nursey _is_ Gritty, he’s pretty aware that Gritty is not Dex’s favourite mascot ever.

And that kinda sucks in a general sense, but also because Nursey would like to take the suit off and go home sometime today. Instead of losing whatever shred of authenticity was left in an already deeply staged Instagram video of Gritty hovering around behind lovingly as Dex does like, professional hockey player shit, which looks to be the plan right now. Nursey heard the social media team throwing around all kinds of gooey hashtags earlier and he gets it’s their job but talk about exhausting.

“Look,” says Dex, abruptly right in front of Nursey. It is pretty easy to get lost inside your head when you’re in the Gritty suit with just a smallish gap to see through, to be fair. “I don’t know how much pull you have being the mascot, but maybe if we both say this isn’t working then we can stop, or they’ll switch it up, or something.”

Nursey gives an exaggerated Gritty-shrug. It’s not his problem that Dex can’t be a professional. Also, he actually doesn’t have that much sway with what’s going on. _Also_ also, sometimes he likes to be a bit of an asshole.

Dex, true to form, looks deeply, deeply unimpressed. “Seriously? I know you’re someone in there, can you just take the head off or whatever for one fucking minute and we can talk a game plan?”

Nursey gives another Gritty-shrug, but in this case it’s genuine. He doesn’t know if he can take the head off – one of the behind the scenes staff always help him into and out of the suit, since it’s pretty massive and bulky and Nursey doesn’t know what the limits are for lifting his arms. He isn’t going to lose this job because he ripped the armpit stitching in the Flyer’s beloved Gritty.

The fact that it would be in front of Dex and Nursey knows he looks sweaty in a way that is bordering gross instead of appealingly sexy _and_ his hair must be squashed all over the place _and_ he spotted the beginnings of a suit-induced break out across his chin this morning doesn’t even factor in. It doesn’t.

Rolling his eyes hard enough that Nursey himself has to respect the effort there, Dex reaches over and pulls Gritty’s head off. Distantly, Nursey can hear about fifteen film and ice crew yelling out in horror because apparently there’s like, a technique to pulling the head off which Dex is very much not following. It’s too late, though – the head is off.

Nursey blinks in the sudden brightness, temporarily disorientated by the return of his full field of vision. His hair is sticking to his forehead a little, so he wipes a hand that does nothing across it and his neck feels stiff as fuck, so he takes a moment to roll it out before it forms into a headache. Takes a moment to breathe fresh, clean air too; their filming schedule is gonna be seriously derailed now, but _God_ is it good to be free from Gritty’s fucking head prison.

Then he looks across from him to Dex. Dex’s mouth is slightly open and he’s flushed, clashing horrifically with everything including the massive Gritty head in his hands. The clashing should be unappealing, but unfortunately, he still looks hot and like an asshole and like a hot asshole. Nursey wants to press his hands against him, except his hands are Gritty hands at the moment.

“Sup,” he says instead of something like _hey can we take five and I can lick you?_ _Mutual licking?_

Dex goes even pinker. “Holy- I mean. Uh. Hey.” Then pinker still, “Um. I mean, forget what I said before. Like, whatever. Let’s just try and get this fucking filming done, okay?”

_Be chill._ “I’m not the one missing the goal.” Nursey tries not to wince. Maybe a bit too chill, even if it’s true. Before they can get into some kind of very unprofessional argument, he continues, “And you’re going to have to give me the head first, bro.”

For a moment, it seems like Dex is going to refuse, and Nursey is temporarily delighted and alarmed at the prospect of how much fun he could have with that. Maybe a little horny about it, sue him. But then Dex looks around at all the staff watching them and hands Gritty’s massive head back over with a frown.

Nursey doesn’t take it. It’s a bit awkward, but also, “I need you to put it on me.”

Dex stares at Nursey and Nursey doesn’t want to sound big headed (ha) but like, Dex looks a little- transfixed. Dazed. Nursey internally preens for a moment, then realises Dex has switched to looking at his mouth area and, with a sinking feeling, remembers the break out on his chin. Maybe he could tuck his chin into the neck of the Gritty suit? Would he just look like a turtle?

“Take your time,” he says instead, snarky, to hopefully distract Dex from the whole spot situation. Also because Dex is just standing there with the Gritty head; as much as Nursey is enjoying the vibes they’ve now got going on between them (Gritty not included), he’s not _that_ kind of asshole; he doesn’t want to put everyone on the ice out.

Dex flushes so hard he’s glowing. “I’ve got it, thanks,” he says, and plonks the Gritty head on Nursey’s. It’s surprisingly one of the gentler Gritty-entering experiences Nursey’s had, for all that Dex looks like he’s about to burst a blood vessel.

He has put it on slightly wonky, the eye gap out of line, and there’s another chorus of yelling from the staff about technique. Nursey, though, is using his available eye to watch Dex skating away – his bright red ears are like fucking beacons and his face still ridiculous shades when he shoots a half glance back at Nursey over his shoulder.

Inside the safety of the Gritty head, Nursey allows himself a quick moment for his face to do whatever it wants before the filming crew start calling everyone back to order. He’s going to invest in the best skincare products available the second he gets home, but maybe also he’ll read over his contract real quick, just to see if there’s a specific mention of rules on slipping a player your number.


End file.
